| Numbers | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Charlie Clouser |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 118(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Production locations | Los Angeles,Pasadena |
| Running time | 43 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | January 23, 2005 (2005-01-23) – March 12, 2010 (2010-03-12) |
Numbers (stylized asNUMB3RS) is an Americancrime drama television series that originally aired onCBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, with a total of six seasons consisting of118 episodes. The series was created byNicolas Falacci andCheryl Heuton, and followsFBI Special AgentDon Eppes (Rob Morrow) and his brotherCharlie Eppes (David Krumholtz), a college mathematics professor and prodigy, who helps Don solve crimes for the FBI. BrothersRidley andTony Scott producedNumbers; its production companies are the Scott brothers'Scott Free Productions andCBS Television Studios (originallyParamount Network Television, and laterCBS Paramount Network Television).
The show focuses equally on the relationships among Don Eppes, his brother Charlie Eppes, and their father,Alan Eppes (Judd Hirsch), and on the brothers' efforts to fight crime, usually in Los Angeles. A typical episode begins with a crime, which is subsequently investigated by a team of FBI agents led by Don andmathematically modeled by Charlie, with the help ofLarry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol) andAmita Ramanujan (Navi Rawat). The insights provided by Charlie's mathematics were always in some way crucial to solving the crime.
On May 18, 2010, CBS canceled the series after six seasons.[1]
The show revolved around three intersecting groups of characters: the FBI, scientists at the fictitious California Institute of Science (CalSci), and the Eppes family.
Opening: (Voice-over by David Krumholtz) We all use math every day. To predict weather, to tell time, to handle money. Math is more than formulas and equations. It's logic; it's rationality. It's using your mind to solve the biggest mysteries we know.
The first season aired between January 23, 2005, and May 13, 2005, at 10:00 pm on Fridays. It started the working relationship between Los Angeles'FBI field office and Charlie Eppes. The main FBI agents are Charlie's brother, Don Eppes, andTerry Lake, as well asDavid Sinclair. Don and Charlie's father, Alan Eppes, provides emotional support for the pair, while Professor Larry Fleinhardt and doctoral student Amita Ramanujan provide mathematical support and insights to Charlie. Season one was a half-season, producing only 13 episodes.Sabrina Lloyd played Terry Lake, an agent, in this season; she was later replaced byDiane Farr, who played Megan Reeves.
The second season aired between September 23, 2005, and May 19, 2006, again at 10:00 pm on Fridays. Season two has several changes to Don's FBI team: Terry Lake is reassigned toWashington and two new members join Don and David Sinclair:Megan Reeves andColby Granger. Charlie is challenged on one of his long-standing mathematical workpieces and starts work on a new theory, cognitive emergence theory. Larry sells his home and assumes anomadic lifestyle while he becomes romantically involved with Megan. Amita receives an offer for an assistant professor position atHarvard University, but is plagued by doubt as her relationship with Charlie is challenged, and her career is in upheaval. Alan begins work and dating again, although he struggles with the loss of his wife and Charlie and his dream of her.
Numb3rs was renewed for a third season,[2] which began airing at 10:00 pm on Friday, September 22, 2006, and ended on May 18, 2007. Charlie and Amita intensify their relationship, as do Larry and Megan, especially after Megan's kidnapping. Amita has trouble adjusting to her new role as a CalSci professor, and Larry announces hisleave of absence; he will be on theInternational Space Station for six months, which greatly distresses Charlie. Charlie and his colleagues are troubled by Dr. Mildred Finch, the newly appointed chair of the CalSci Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy Division, whom they learn has begun dating Alan.Meanwhile, Don dates Agent Liz Warner and questions hisethics andself worth, and receives counseling. Charlie sees Don's therapist, and the two understand one another more. Despite Don's concerns, Alan engages in some FBI consulting with his engineering knowledge, and Larry returns from the space station, disillusioned. The finale wraps up with a revelation that Colby was a double agent for the Chinese.
Noticeable changes from previous seasons include removing the opening-credit sequence (credits are now done during the first segment of the show), the absence of Peter MacNicol's character for much of the season, and the absence of Diane Farr's character for a few episodes. Peter MacNicol appeared in the first 11 episodes before leaving for the television show24, but returned toNumbers for the 21st episode of season three ("The Art of Reckoning"). His character's absence was written into the show by becoming apayload specialist on the International Space Station. Diane Farr, pregnant for most of the season, left the show formaternity leave in episode 18 ("Democracy"); her character's absence is explained as a particular assignment to theDepartment of Justice.
The season premiere aired on September 28, 2007, in the same time slot as in previous seasons, 10:00 pmEastern Time.[3] Because of thewriter's strike, only 12 episodes were initially produced. However, once the strike ended, CBS announced the show's return April 4, 2008, with six episodes.[4] The season ended on May 16, 2008.
As this season starts,Colby Granger escapes from jail and is revealed to be atriple agent. He then rejoins the team. Don and Liz break up halfway through this season after Liz has trouble with Don's trust issues. Amita's parents come to visit, which becomes a secondary theme throughout most of the season. Due to her work at the DOJ, Megan is conflicted by her work and turns to Larry. Near the end of the season, Don's girlfriend from season two, Robin Brooks, returns. Don and Robin then continue their relationship. Charlie attendsFBI training camp because he has been working with Don for several years and wants to understand better what his brother does. In the season finale, Megan leaves the team to move back to Washington, DC, and Charlie goes head-to-head with Don about a case. This causes Charlie to send information to scientists inPakistan. He is subsequently arrested and has hissecurity clearance revoked to no longer help Don on cases. At the end of the episode, Don drives away to another case, and Charlie admits that giving up FBI work will be more challenging than he expected.
Several characters from previous seasons did not appear in season four, most notablyMildred Finch andIan Edgerton.
The fifth season premiered on October 3, 2008, and the season finale aired on May 15, 2009. The season premiere was moved back one week to accommodate the2008 presidential debates.[5]
Season five opens three weeks after "When Worlds Collide" (season four's finale), with the government dropping the charges against Charlie. Charlie gets hissecurity clearance back after Don and he fight FBI Security Officer Carl McGowan. Don begins to exploreJudaism. The team adds new agent Nikki Betancourt, who arrives shortly after Megan Reeves' departure. Robin is offered a promotion but turns it down. Buck Winters (from the episodes"Spree" and "Two Daughters") breaks out of prison and comes after Don. Alan suddenly finds himself coaching CalSci's basketball team. David becomes Don's primary relief supervisor.DARPA tries to recruit Charlie, but he turns down their offer. Toward the end of the season, Don is stabbed, and Charlie blames himself for it. The aftermath of Don's stabbing causes Charlie to focus more on his FBI consultation work. Amita is kidnapped, and the team races to find her. After she is rescued, Charlie proposes to Amita. Her response is left undisclosed.
"Disturbed" marked the 100th episode ofNumbers.[6]
The sixth and final season premiered Friday, September 25, 2009, at 10:00 pmET[7] and the season finale aired on March 12, 2010, 3 days before Hirsch's 75th birthday.
The season starts with theengagement of Charlie and Amita. Soon after, Larry turns down an opportunity to meet with mathematicians atCERN, inGeneva, and drops his course load for the following semester. This leads Charlie to realize Larry is once again leaving and leaving all of his work to Charlie. Don learns that his former mentor is crooked, causing Don angst to shoot his mentor. Charlie and Don realize that Alan has lost a substantial amount of money in his401(k). After some delay, Larry leaves Los Angeles to find a vacant piece of land for sale within driving distance of the city. Alan decides to return to work and finds a job as a software technical consultant. David asks Don for advice about career paths within the FBI. Larry returns from the desert with a new theory about the universe's fate. Charlie and Amita begin planning their wedding and decide to join theBig Brother/Big Sister program to practice parenting skills. They get married before their move toEngland to teach at theUniversity of Cambridge. Don loses his gun, recovers it after it is used in somevigilante murders, and gets engaged to Robin. He also decides to leave the team, taking an administrative position within the FBI. Before leaving, Charlie and Amita decide that the family garage should be converted to aguest house so Alan can continue living with them. Leaving Colby, Liz, and Nikki behind, David departs for Washington, DC, to a position as an anti-corruption team leader.
CBS DVD (distributed byParamount Home Entertainment) has released all six seasons ofNumb3rs on DVD in Regions 1, 2, and 4.
On June 2, 2017, CBS DVD releasedNumb3rs: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[8]
| Season # | Release Dates | Ep (#) | Length (min.) | Discs | Region 1 Extras | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US, Canada (R1) | UK (R2) | Australia (R4) | |||||
| Season one | May 30, 2006[9] | October 2, 2006[10] | October 5, 2006[11] | 13[9] | 544[9] | 4[9] | Cast and crew commentaries for five episodes, "Crunching Numb3rs: Season 1," "Point of Origin: Inside the Unaired Pilot," "Do The Math: The Caltech Analysis," and "Charlievision: FX Sequences 1.0," blooper reels, and audition reels.[12] |
| Season two | October 10, 2006[13] | July 9, 2007[14] | June 7, 2007[15] | 24[13] | 1037[13] | 6[13] | Cast and crew commentaries for six episodes, "Crunching Numb3rs: Season Two," two "behind the scenes" videos (one with Nicholas Falacci, the other with David Krumholtz), and a blooper reel.[16] |
| Season three | September 25, 2007[17] | February 9, 2009[18] | July 10, 2008[19] | 24[17] | 1029[17] | 6[17] | Cast and crew commentaries for five episodes, "Crunching Numb3rs: Season 3," a mini-documentary of the Eppes house, a blooper reel, and a tour of the Eppes' house set.[20] |
| Season four | September 30, 2008[21] | July 13, 2009[22] | July 2, 2009[23] | 18[21] | 767[21] | 5[21] | "Crunching NUMB3RS: Trust Metric," featurettes for two episodes, "The Tony Touch", pre-production, and post production.[24] |
| Season five | October 20, 2009[25] | June 21, 2010[26] | August 4, 2010[27] | 23 | 983[28] | 6[29] | Cast and crew commentaries for three episodes, deleted scenes for "Thirty-Six Hours", "Crunching NUMB3RS: Season Five" featurette, "Celebrating 100" featurette, Blooper reel.[29] |
| Season six | August 10, 2010 | July 18, 2011 | July 21, 2011[30] | 16 | 660 | 4 | Coming Full Circle: Numb3rs the final season, The women of Numb3rs, Pixel Perfect:the digital cinematography of Numb3rs, Production Photo Gallery |
| Complete series | June 6, 2017 | N/A | December 1, 2011[31] | 118 | 31 | ||
Nicolas Falacci andCheryl Heuton, the show's creators, won several awards for the show, including theCarl Sagan Award for Public Understanding of Science in 2006[32] and theNational Science Board's Public Service Award in 2007.[33] They also won theJoint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) reward and encourage communicators who, on a sustained basis, bring mathematical ideas and information to non-mathematical audiences Communications Award in 2010.[34][35] Also, the show'sstunt coordinator, Jim Vickers, was nominated for anEmmy Award forOutstanding Stunt Coordination in 2006 for episode 14 of Season 2, "Harvest".[36]
We all use math every day. To predict weather, to tell time, to handle money. Math is more than formulas and equations. It's logic; it's rationality. It's using your mind to solve the biggest mysteries we know.
Several mathematicians work asconsultants for each episode.[37][38][39] Actual mathematics are presented in the show; the equations on the chalkboards are mathematically valid, and are somewhat applicable to the situations presented in each show. This mathematical validity and applicability of the equations have been asserted by professional mathematicians.[37][40][41]
A book entitledThe Numbers Behind NUMB3RS: Solving Crime with Mathematics (ISBN 0452288576; published August 28, 2007), written byKeith Devlin andDr. Gary Lorden, a consultant to the show along with Dr. Orara, a physics consultant, explains some of the mathematical techniques that have been used both in actual FBI cases and in other law-enforcement departments.[42][43]
Since the premiere season, the blog edited by Prof. Mark Bridger (Northeastern University) has commented on the mathematics behind each episode of the show.[44]
Wolfram Research (the developers ofMathematica) is the chief math consultant, reviewing scripts and providing background mathematics for the show. Starting with season four, their website in collaboration with CBS is entitled "The math behindNUMB3RS".[45]
Alice Silverberg, a mathematician consultant to the show, expressed concern with its use of mathematics, asserting that the math is inserted after the initial script and written to provide plausible-soundingjargon, rather than having consultants involved at all stages of story development.[46] The same part-time consultant offered criticism of the show's portrayal of female mathematicians and expressed concern over the appropriateness of the relationship between Charlie Eppes and his graduate student Amita Ramanujan.[46]
The idea forNumbers was generated in the late 1990s when Nick Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, the show's creators, attended a lecture given byBill Nye, a popularscience educator.[47] The premise of the show is similar to that of authorColin Bruce'sreimaginings of the Sherlock Holmes character,[48] and to the "Mathnet" segment on the children's television showSquare One.
Gabriel Macht was originally cast to portray the character of Don Eppes.[49] Also, the original concept for the show had the events take place atMassachusetts Institute of Technology;[50] this was later changed to the fictional California Institute of Science, commonly called CalSci. Scenes which take place at CalSci are filmed atCalifornia Institute of Technology (Caltech)[50] and theUniversity of Southern California. One of the most frequent campus locations at Caltech is the vicinity ofMillikan Library, including the bridge over Millikan Pond, the Trustees room, and the arcades of nearby buildings. At USC, locations include Doheny Library and the Town and Gown dining room. Exteriors for the FBI offices are on the distinctive bridge atLos Angeles Center Studios.[51]
Another common location is theCraftsman home of the Eppes family. The house shown in the first season is real; it is owned by David Raposa and Edward Trosper,[52] although areplica set was used from the second season onwards.[53]
The show uses the number three in its title instead of the letter "e", in which is found inLeetspeak. In the interviews with Tom Jicha of theSouth Florida Sun-Sentinel and with Alan Pergament ofThe Buffalo News, Heuton mentioned that the use of the number three in the title derives fromleet, a form of computer jargon that replaces letters with numbers.[54][55] Dr.Gary Lorden, aCalifornia Institute of Technology mathematics professor who served as the show's mathematics consultant, toldNPR's Ira Flatow that it was created on a normal computer keyboard. Lorden also mentioned that the use of the number three in the title can serve as a restriction in Internet searches about the series.[56]
Both entertainment reporters and psychologists noticed the title's spelling. Some reporters, such as Joanne Ostrow ofThe Denver Post,[57] the staff members ofPeople magazine,[58] the editors ofThe Futon Critic,[59] the staff of theScripps Howard News Service,[60] and Mike Hughes ofUSA Today[61] acknowledged the presence of the number three in the title. Lynette Rice ofEntertainment Weekly asked Krumholtz about the three in the title; his response was, "Isn't that annoying? I think it should be the mathematical symbol forsigma, which looks like an E. I've been fighting that for weeks."[62] (Thesigma (Σ) stands forsummation.[63]) Others used varying adjectives to describe the title. The TV siteZap2it.com called it "their typographical silliness, not ours".[64] Brad Aspey ofThe Muskegon Chronicle, stated, "No, that wasn't an ugly typo you just read - 'NUMB3RS' (pronounced numbers) is the idiosyncratic title of filmmakers Ridley and Tony Scott's astute and crafty psychological drama which shows that even math can make for edge-of-your-seat entertainment."[65] Ellen Gray ofThe Philadelphia Daily News, said, "Some of you may have noticed that in promoting 'Numb3rs,' which premieres Sunday before moving to its regular 10 p.m. Friday slot, CBS has chosen to put a 3 in place of the 'e' in the title....I won't be going along with this particular affectation, which slows down my typing and seems to be the graphic equivalent of the reversed 'R' in Toys R Us. So there."[66]
Still others had a more positive view of the title. When NPR's Flatow asked both Lorden and Dr. Keith Devlin, NPR's mathematics reporter, about the title, both men denied creating the title; Devlin believed that executive producer Tony Scott originated the title. Lorden stated that he initially thought that the title was "kind of hokey", but later saw it as "brilliant" and a "catchy logo".[56] Jonathan Storm ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer, in his review of the series stated, "You'd think CBS's newNumbers, which premieres at 10 tonight after the Patriots–Steelers football game, is just another one of those shows with numskull titles trying to draw attention to themselves. But the '3' substituting for the 'e' is actually based on a real thing".... He later said that the show was "written by people familiar with theDead Cow Cult".[67] David Brooks ofThe Telegraph (Nashua, NH) devoted the majority of his entire review to the use of leet in the series title.[68] In addition, three psychologists, Manuel Perea, Jon Andoni Duñabeitia, and Manuel Carreiras mentioned the television series in their 2008 article for theAmerican Psychological Association'sJournal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance.[69]
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) ofNumb3rs on CBS.[70]
Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of Maysweeps.
| Season | Timeslot | Season premiere | Season finale | Episodes | TV season | Ranking | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Friday 10:00 PM | January 23, 2005 | May 13, 2005 | 13 | 2004–2005 | #36 | 10.77[71] |
| 2nd | September 23, 2005 | May 19, 2006 | 24 | 2005–2006 | #32 | 11.62[72] | |
| 3rd | September 22, 2006 | May 18, 2007 | 24 | 2006–2007 | #38 | 10.5[73] | |
| 4th[73] | September 28, 2007 | May 16, 2008 | 18 | 2007–2008 | #55 | 9.14[74] | |
| 5th | October 3, 2008 | May 15, 2009 | 23 | 2008–2009 | #37 | 10.29[75] | |
| 6th | September 25, 2009 | March 12, 2010 | 16[76] | 2009–2010 | #46 | 8.45[77] |
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